FEATURED DISCUSSIONS

Employment is the ultimate goal after graduation or certification. With a recovering economy it can be very difficult, but prior service members bring unique skills to the work force. What type of relationships does your institution have with outside employers? Do you find that these relationships are very beneficial and successful? Please share your examples to help other schools learn from your experiences.

I counsel active duty Marines on all things related to higher education. Often, this consists of assisting them with college admissions and FAFSA applications. Whenever I counsel, I call the veterans' departments of the school the Marine is looking to attend. Sometimes I get a well-versed vet rep and other times I get transferred five times and still cannot find anyone who can help me. When I am looking for quick, informative facts to assist the service member with their admissions pathway, I want to speak to a well-versed vet rep who will be able to send me information by email and answer my questions over the phone. I was wondering what types of training, if any, that schools are giving to their vet reps? Do your vet reps have information regarding the admissions pathway for veterans? ​

Student orientations are a tool institutions use to help new students become familiar with their campus, connect with other students, and get familiar with the resources available to them. While these orientations have proven effective for the majority of traditional undergraduate students, they have not always met the needs of some of the more nontraditional student populations including service members and veterans. As the military student population has increased on campuses throughout the country, institutions have sought out creative ways to address this issue. A trend among institutions is a specialized orientation for their military populations.